


it don't take a word

by RiotFalling



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Annoyed Avengers, Clint is not helpful, Crack, M/M, Oblivious Bucky Barnes, Pining Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22535698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiotFalling/pseuds/RiotFalling
Summary: Tony is getting another lecture from Steve. Not unusual. The topic is new though, and if Bucky had justnoticedthat Tony's been flirting with him like crazy, they wouldn't be in this mess.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 18
Kudos: 512





	it don't take a word

**Author's Note:**

> Have some more crack. Inspired by [this post.](https://riotwritesthings.tumblr.com/post/190337391450/yall-i-cant-stop-laughing-at-this-photo-not)

This is not the first time Tony has gotten the Captain America lecture of disapproval, and he’s sure it won’t be the last. It _is_ the first time he’s been lectured for _‘flirting to much on the comms. During a fight, guys, are you serious with this?’_

And the problem is that Tony had actually thought he was being _subtle,_ thought he’d been playing it relatively cool with his massive crush. Taking his time, and all that, maybe start with some light flirting to kind of test out the waters, as it were. So what if he’s been on ‘light flirting’ for the past month? Or seven months? He hasn’t figured out if his flirting is actually wanted or not yet, okay? Not conclusively. And maybe Tony is a little terrified of being wrong.

Except, apparently, Tony had not been nearly as subtle as he thought, because now he’s getting a talking-to from Steve, who at least looks equally uncomfortable with this latest topic of lecture. And the worst part, the absolute _worst_ part, is that when Tony chances a glance over at Bucky, hoping to at least finally get an answer to his _‘does Bucky maybe like me yes/no’_ question, what he actually sees is a look of flat out confusion on Bucky’s face.

So. That’s something. Apparently Tony has been flirting so obviously and obnoxiously that Steve feels the need to tell him to stop, and here Bucky hadn’t even noticed. So. He probably does _not_ like Tony back. 

And that’s... Fine. It’s fine. It’s what Tony had basically been expecting anyways. There’s a reason he hasn’t actually used his words, like Rhodey keeps insisting he try. And it’s because Tony doesn’t _actually_ think Bucky, smart, sweet, clever, badass Bucky Barnes would have any sort of feelings for him, for billionaire, asshole, human disaster Tony Stark. He knows _Tony,_ the real Tony, after all, and that _is_ usually the deal breaker.

So yeah, not-so-light-flirting. Which Bucky hadn’t noticed. It’s for the best, probably, except when Tony risks another glance over Bucky’s gaze has drifted away from Steve’s face and off into the distance, like he’s connecting the dots, and that’s not good either. Now Bucky is going to _realize_ that Tony has been clumsily attempting to flirt with him, and things are going to get awkward, and everything will be ruined. Sure enough it’s not long before Bucky puts it all together, and then his face goes _bright fucking red_ and hey, at least he’s a nice enough guy that Tony probably won’t have to worry about Bucky laughing and/or vomiting right in his face. Probably. Bucky still isn’t actually looking at him, so it’s hard to say for sure.

Tony wonders if he can fold his helmet back up around his head without anyone calling him on it. This is what he gets for letting Steve convince him that lectures are a ‘helmet off’ event, now he has to worry about what his face is doing as he quickly drops his eyes back to the ground. Although Steve seems to have awkwardly trailed off in the face of Bucky’s obvious revelation, and Tony knows how to take a chance when he sees one.

“Okay, good talk,” Tony says with a tight smile and hops to his feet before Steve can find his words again. This looks like the perfect time for Operation: Run From His Problems, so Tony does just that and makes a break for the door.

If he avoids Bucky and also everyone else long enough, they can all just pretend this never happened. That’s the dream, here, that’s the best case scenario. Tony just... can’t believe Bucky hadn’t even _noticed._ He had thought they were just... taking it slow, or something, or maybe Bucky was still deciding if getting involved with Tony would be worth the trouble. Which is fair. The only thing Tony has more of than baggage is issues, and when you mix that in with his ego and his many, many complexes, and it’s probably amazing Bucky even wanted to be friends in the first place.

Tony makes it out the door and into the hallway with only the sound of Steve hesitantly calling after him, like he’s not sure if he should or not, and that’s not going to be _nearly_ enough to stop Tony right now. And oh god, if even Steve feels sorry for him then Tony has really screwed this up bad. Fantastic. Maybe he should double up on his ‘hiding out’ time.

The hallway is empty, the coast is clear, and Tony is so close to freedom in the form of hiding away forever that he can almost _taste_ it. It tastes a lot like disappointment and embarrassment. Tony is so focused on making his escape that he jumps when he’s pulled suddenly to a stop. He hadn’t even noticed Bucky grabbing his arm through the armor and hey look at that, apparently Bucky has chased him down. Fantastic. So much for running from his problems and avoiding the whole _‘it’s not me, it’s you’_ conversation.

“So hey, whose turn was it to cook tonight? Tony asks, overly bright, and keeps his eyes fixed somewhere over Bucky’s shoulder. “Please don’t say Clint, I can’t eat cereal for dinner again, I just can’t,” Tony continues, because he’s not giving up without a fight and plan B is _always_ to talk his way out of something. Just keep talking until all his problems go away.

“Tony,” Bucky says, something like hesitation is his voice and Tony would probably know for sure if he could just make himself look Bucky in the eye. He can’t though, he really can’t, because Tony has been turned down all sorts of ways but he doesn’t think he’ll be able to take it if he actually has to look Bucky in the eye as he’s turned down gently. Because of course Bucky is going to turn him down gently, and Tony isn’t sure if that should make it better or worse. Bucky may be way too good for him, but at least he’s nice enough to not rub it in.

“Don’t-“ Tony interrupts, and his voice comes out embarrassingly rough, throat tightening up. He wants to run but Bucky’s hand is still on his arm and maybe Tony isn’t quite ready to tug himself free yet. So instead he’s just stuck, standing there like a moron and he _still_ can’t meet Bucky’s eyes. “Sorry, I’m- can we just... _not_ talk about this?” Tony asks, a little desperate because he’s embarrassingly close to tears, here. He’d thought Bucky had at least _noticed._

Bucky opens his mouth, no doubt to say something painfully kind and heartbreaking, only to pause at the faint sound of singing. Tony’s relieved it’s not just in his head, because that had definitely been his first thought, but no, it’s coming through the earpiece still hanging loose around Bucky’s neck, through the comms in Tony’s suit. It’s with a feeling of dawning horror that Tony realizes it’s Clint, and he’s singing _‘Kiss the Girl_ ’ from The Little Mermaid. Like an _asshole_.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Tony groans and finally pulls his arm free of Bucky’s grasp so he can drop his face into his palms, doesn’t even care that they’re currently covered in metal and smell a little bit like a grease fire. _He’d_ quite like to be in a grease fire at this point, if it would get him out of this mess. “You are _not helping, goddamnit Clint mind your own business,”_ Tony groans out, and he can tell from the soft huff of laughter that Clint definitely heard him, but the asshole continues singing undaunted.

Worse, Tony’s pretty sure that extra voice in the background is Thor joining in and he may not know the words but he certainly gets the gist of the song. Even if a couple of Thor’s suggestions are actually not at all Disney-friendly. Tony has the horrible feeling that his face is _on fire_ at this point, not even the metal of the gauntlets smashed against his cheeks is going to help, and he’s totally evicting all these assholes just as soon as he’s done crawling into a hole for the next ten years or so.

He can’t even be relieved when the singing cuts off suddenly, replaced by a pained yelp from Clint, because then Natasha’s voice comes through the comms, much clearer, as she says “seriously though boys, get it together already.”

The line finally goes dead and blessed, awkward silence fills the hallway. Tony wonders, if he can just stand here with his face in his hands long enough, will Bucky eventually just walk away? And then Tony can go complete his ‘hide forever’ plan? Because that’s all he really wants here, is that too much to ask for in life?

Bucky isn’t saying anything else, but he’s not walking away, either, Tony can just see the toes of his boots past his own palms and it looks like Tony is going to have to be an _adult_ about this. Awesome. So he drags in a shaking breath, drops his hands back to his sides and just tries to make sure his expression isn’t too telling as he finally forces himself to look at Bucky again. He has just enough time to register the look in Bucky’s eyes, some crazy mix of terror and hope, and then Bucky’s lips are crashing down against his own.

Tony doesn’t think, doesn’t let himself hesitate, just grabs onto Bucky’s shoulders and kisses him back, a confused, desperate noise caught somewhere in his chest. He’s still wearing the armor and his grip is probably too tight, it can’t actually be comfortable when Tony grabs at the back of his neck, tries to pull him closer, but Bucky doesn’t complain. Bucky just keeps kissing him, his own hands on Tony’s cheeks, running down the front of the armor like he’s considering tearing Tony right out of it.

When they finally break away Tony is panting raggedly and his smile feels wide enough to split his face even as he tries to pout and accuse “I can’t believe you didn’t even _notice!_ I don’t know how much harder I could possibly flirt!”

“Thought I was readin’ too much into it,” Bucky says, smiling sheepishly and shrugging a little and oh, he’s so lucky he’s cute.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Tony tells him, pouting a little harder and then immediately grinning again when Bucky leans in to scrape his teeth over Tony’s lower lip. “Seriously,” Tony feels the need to add, laughing a little because Bucky is now feeling up the armor like he’s looking for something, “if you weren’t so cute you’d be in trouble, because you’re _so dumb.”_

“Yeah,” Bucky agrees easily, and he’s _definitely_ pawing at the emergency release catches now, and Tony is in a good enough mood that he’s not even going to complain. He’s also not going to help though, Bucky definitely deserves to work for it after all this shit. 

“You had to get _serenaded_ by the _blondes_ before you put it together,” Tony points out, smirking.

“I put it together before that,” Bucky protests, “one blonde, zero singing, you’re th’ one who ran-“ Bucky cuts himself off with a cryof victory when he finally finds the release catch, yanking at it and then immediately grabbing for Tony when the suit falls away. “Plus,” Bucky adds with a smirk, big hands dragging down Tony’s back as he pulls him in close, “you like me anyways, dumb or not.”

“I suppose I do,” Tony says with a heavy sigh, but he’s still grinning widely because _fuck_ it feels so good to finally admit it, to finally bury his fingers in Bucky’s hair and pull him into another kiss.


End file.
